Selection Criteria

Please use the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to apply for selection into our residency program.

Please READ ALL OF THE INFORMATION BELOW before contacting us with questions and/or applying for our residency program.

2016 Eligibility and Selection

Thank you for your interest in our general surgery residency program. This letter will hopefully answer some of your questions and assist you in the application process for a July 2016 residency position. Please review our website http://www.upstate.edu/surgery/education/residency/general/criteria.php to further answer any questions you may have regarding our program.

The Department of Surgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University offers a traditional, comprehensive, fully ACGME accredited general surgery residency program with a curriculum emphasizing supervised experience in both traditional, open surgical procedures and newer, laparoscopic, minimally invasive and robotic techniques. Elective opportunities for basic and clinical research are also available as part of the residency program. University Hospital, a 409-bed, Level I Trauma Center, and Golisano Children’s Hospital serve 17 counties in the Upstate and Central New York area. Adjoining University Hospital, a free-standing 90,000 square foot, comprehensive Cancer Center opened its doors to patients in July 2014. Resident teams also rotate through the general surgery teaching services at adjacent Crouse Hospital, nearby Veterans Administration Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and Upstate University Hospital at Community General.

SUNY Upstate Medical University is located in downtown Syracuse, the fourth largest city in New York State. Surrounded by breathtaking countryside, Syracuse offers a rich city life with varied cultural and recreational offerings.

We will begin accepting applications in September 2015 through ERAS – the Electronic Residency Application Service maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Please do not fax, email or mail me your CV, etc. It is our policy to accept applications ONLY through ERAS. Interviews will take place during November 2015, December 2015 and January 2016. The deadline for submitting your application is December 1, 2015. You will also need to participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) in March 2016. We traditionally offer five categorical and approximately five undesignated preliminary positions. I stress that your application cannot be reviewed until it is complete! We do not offer pre-match positions.

To be considered for an interview you will need to provide, via ERAS, your Curriculum Vitae, medical school transcript, USLME Step I/COMLEX I official documentation, personal statement, Dean’s letter and four letters of recommendation, preferably from U. S. surgeons with whom you have worked. You must pass USLME Step 1 or COMLEX I on your first attempt with a minimum score of 225/575. At the time you submit your application you do not need to have taken Step II or Step 2 CK. We are seeking recent U.S. medical school graduates. All applicants, if not currently enrolled in medical school, must have graduated within the last five years. If you are a foreign medical graduate you will need U.S. clinical experience and must be ECFMG certified at the time of application, unless you are currently in medical school. An observership/externship does not satisfy our requirement for clinical experience as it does not provide “hands on” patient care. We are able to sponsor only a J-1 visa, with no exceptions. We currently have a select number of foreign medical graduates in our program.

I look forward to receiving your application and to meeting you should you be offered the opportunity to come to Syracuse for an interview.